Authored By Staff Report

A local organization received a $25,500 grant to help fight the opioid epidemic in Chattanooga. Girls Inc. of Chattanooga was one of more than 40 organizations across Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia to receive a prevention, education grant from the Cardinal Health Foundation. “This grant will support our efforts to empower young ladies as leaders both in their communities and among their peers,” Girls Inc. CEO Melissa Blevins said in a prepared statement. Girls Inc. of Chattanooga is an organization committed to helping girls ages 6-18 grow the confidence and the skills to be strong, smart and bold throughout their lives. The organization has programs available to all local girls in school, after school and outside of school in seasonal camps. The grant is part of the Generation Rx Prescription Drug Misuse Prevention Education for Youth program. The Generation Rx grant-funded program will be youth-led and follow the design of the Girls Inc. IMPACT program. The IMPACT program at Girls Inc. of Chattanooga is committed to educating teenage girls about infant mortality and was recognized by the National Institute for Health Care Management as one of the most effective teen health advocacy programs in the country. “The IMPACT participants become subject matter experts and change-makers ending prescription medication and opioid misuse in our region,” Blevins said. With the help of the grant, Girls Inc. of Chattanooga will continue its teen health advocacy programming to include a prescription drug misuse prevention education platform. As part of Cardinal Health’s Opioid Action Program, the grants are designed to expand medication safety education for thousands of students in K-12 schools and universities, using Generation Rx educational materials. “All of the organizations selected for funding share our goal of turning the tide on the opioid epidemic,” Vice President of Community Relations at Cardinal Health Jessie Cannon said in a prepared statement. For more information about Cardinal Health visit its website and to learn more about Girls Inc of Chattanooga’s ongoing efforts to inspire all girls, visit its website.